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So, this is a bit of a breakthrough. Doubtless thanks to JJ Abrams and my constant John Harrison/Khan Noonien Singh Star Trek Into Darkness posts this blog has broke 406 unique visitors – TODAY.
Sure, I average about 100 unique hits a day, but never up like this.
That’s how they tell you to build a platform – Talk about what you like and know.
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Among Bright Stars… (Neo-human #2)
Humanity’s future, isn’t human…
Nadia Korelia, Falcanian queen, has spent the last three years assembling together her sibling Morningstars. Artificial people, who are in every way stronger, smarter and more beautiful. Among these Morningstars are Temujin Sardur, a Mongolian buccaneer, who raided pleasure boats in the Andaman Sea, Guillaume LaSalle, a Gascony spaceship Commander, who participated in bringing alien life to Earth, and Darius Noorani, the 12th Imam foretold by Islamic religion. Can Nadia unite her fellow Morningstars, even as the Falcanians use war, to broker for peace?
It’s finally here, Neo-human book 2!
A few thoughts. The book here is very different from the draft I began with, though the plot is largely the same, how it gets to where its going is somewhat different. Many of the changes came about because these first three Neo-human books were written as a single unit, not unlike LoTR, and the second book behaved too much like “the middle” of the novel than a story on its own. To be sure, the larger story arc needed to be, and is served here, though I made a point to connect the grander arc to the micro focus on Mornngstars and what they are. In fact doing so added another layer of meaning which I didn’t intend to touch on until further down the road in the series.
If “Starblade” was the story of Frederika learning about who, and what she is, then “Among Bright Stars…” is Nadia‘s story exploring she and Frederika‘s common Morningstar origins.
I’m going to forewarn you, there’s a little something for everyone to HATE in this book. It could be the whole Muslim messiah presented as both a Robot and a fierce Westernizer/reformer. After Benghazi, I made a special effort to tick up that plot a bit… Or, it could end up being Princess Sitara‘s life choice – Which will only seem radical depending upon your point of view on the matter – Though its sure to annoy some contingent who think science fiction‘s job is to support one particular party line. On that same note, I’m sure the whole Annunaki riff will grate a few people the wrong way as well. But, I don’t try to please everyone, or anyone but myself first and foremost when I write.
*A sharp eye will note, the Table of Contents (TOC) is different in the Amazon version compared to the Smashwords (aka all other retailers) TOC. That couldn’t be avoided. Kindle was being a pain and wouldn’t read the Table of Contents as it was formatted for Smashwords (which was odd as it had every other time) so I needed to build it a different way. Which is why the epigraph is displayed as it is on the Amazon book.
Araboth…
Araboth? What’s Araboth? Well its my new site. Why did I build it? Mostly so I can use my versatile (not to mention, hit generating…) Nabble gallery, and forum, which WordPress won’t let me embedded here.
Why did I name it Araboth – ‘Seventh Heaven’? I wanted to choose a word that I didn’t make up, or require anyone who stumbled upon the site to be familiar with my work, well that is until after they took a look around the site that is. Araboth is a nice enigmatic, but powerful word, though, it does connect in a very broad sense to my Falcanian novels… if you wonder how, just go read Light & Fire offered above in the free reads.
Anyway, feel free to stop on over, look at the galleries, which contain lots and lots of goodies. Not all of it directly related to anything I’ve written. Much of it is whatever strikes my fancy, or whim. And if you’re really adventures join the BBS. To me, the site is intended to be a crossroads, as you can see by the menu bar that links to this blog and other pages related to me, or my writing. Right now its kind of basic, but it will grow.
The URL is really simple, and is indeed a word I created. I’m sure you’ve seen it here before.
http://falcanian.weebly.com/index.html
New Release: The First Technomancer
Born of a demon, intended to be a messiah, only later to become a madman of the forest glen, the enigmatic figure history recalls as Merlin Emrys is not who, or what you think he is. With his faithful owl Vrroch, Merlin wanders high, and low. Ever seeking, always learning. His magic, and meddling can make empires rise or fall.
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I am very pleased with this book. For me, The First Technomancer is a foundational book, meaning it lays the metaphysical background for my entire shared universe. You’ll notice that on Amazon this book is listed as being part of The Imogen Drake Series – Even though, as yet there are really no Imogen Drake books. Well I felt it fit better there, plus what better way to launch that series but with Merlin!
I decided this will be part of a miniseries, the Caliburn Cycle, which might be a duology.
Ahem… the majority of this book deals with Merlin, or rather, “who he really is”, while the last part essentially begins The Arthurian Cycle. I’ve every intention to pick the story up where it leaves off. You’ll also find many nods to Merlin media throughout. I was going to include An Author’s Note in the back, but then I figured, that’s what this blog is for.
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Not Christian, Or Pagan…
London Film Museum (Photo credit: otubo)
Writing The First Technomancer has, at moments forced me to evaluate assumptions about the character of Merlin. There are things we take for granted about him. We assume he’s of the British Isles, usually an old man, with a long white beard. Many of us likely think of Nicol Williamson, as he depicted Merlin in John Boorman‘s Excalibur. I know I do. In that movie he’s sort of an otherworldly creature, a man, who is not a man. Very often, someplace in the back of our minds we also tend to think of Merlin in terms of Druids. I do know he is largely depicted as a pagan, and a Druid in The Mists of Avalon. A book which splits up male and female spirituality from a very Wiccan, and more broadly Neo-Pagan perspective.
One of the things I’ve set out to do, is make my Merlin beyond any sectarian notion. He is neither (Neo-) Pagan, nor is he a Christian figure. Not that I think many Christians seek to claim Merlin as a representative of their faith. Modern Pagans on the other hand…
A taste from The First Technomancer:
Merlin laughed, and the bishop glowered.
Matters of religion seldom entered Merlin’s equations, not that he thought of himself as a materialist, the inverse in fact, given the scheme of his life. Sure, he made a study of the Druids, whose ways and teachings were now on the wane, relics. But he also counted the Christian messiah as among his blood relations, an uncle. Neither pagan, or Christian, he stood beyond both. Tormenting this bishop, was but a bit of innocent amusement, he harbored no ill will towered Christians… and in truth thought they were a necessity.
As you can see, I actually make my Merlin a nephew of Jesus! Yeah, that’s probably not going to go over well with some of the more militant, strident Neo-Pagans.
Me, I come at all this as a Deist, of a sort. What sort exactly? Well, you can get a good sense of my metaphysics from my novels. Its a bit unconventional.
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Vampires As Natural Beings?
Related to my last post. We accept as a matter of course that vampires are supernatural creatures, demons, cast out from the glory of God. But I don’t think they are presented very often as creatures of nature, in a scientific context.
As a few of you know I plan on introducing vampires into my Falcanian Legacy ‘Verse, in truth I can tell you that I already have, you can even see their moment of creation in this FREE READ. Though rationalizing vampires means tackling the many, many myths and religious notions which seem at first to be par for the course.
My vampires are almost Borg like in nature, though they are individuals and do have their own purposes as well. How this bug into my head was the movie Bloodsuckers (Vampire Wars), yes its cheesy, though sort of fun and it treated vampire life more as exotic alien, than supernatural.
Now my vampires have interesting superhuman powers, many of which you might be familiar with. They can influence lower animals, even humans, drain victims without even taking any blood. Blood in fact is not even a primary dietary requirement, just raw flesh. Though I can’t think of a reason why they’d be afraid of the crucifix, or Lord’s Prayer, or communion wafers. They are nocturnal, and yes the sun does bother them, so they try to avoid a star’s light as best they can, it does not however turn them to ash. It helps that in space, it always nighttime…
The issue I have not yet tackled is: Do my vampires have reflections? Like I said, they do have superhuman powers. Would this cause a mirror, or a camera to not register a vampire? Perhaps its something of a side effect?
I also am toying with the notion that my Nosferatu can, by way of a blood plague (and in another story I implied my Budjah Monks are dealing with this blood plague…) cause regular humans to be altered into a minor form of vampire, a mere shadow of the true vampire which are themselves reflections of more glorious beings, and as it turns out, that is what Vlad Tepes – Dracula actually was, he encountered one of these Nosferatu on the battlefield and ended up immortal, but not exactly sane upon being transformed.
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